Fixing My Rotted Out Rear Hatch

[ChronoGN]

Now,I am thinking of rerouting my wire loom so I won't have to drill a hole to newly welded patch..... I think having a wire enter through a main water flow channel is just a dumb idea in the first place.. Anyone have any good ideas?

[CPHES]

Yeah, the hatch is a weak point. So much crap gets caught there. If you go that route, show us what you did please.

[Leroy08]

Yeah, the hatch is a weak point. So much crap gets caught there. If you go that route, show us what you did please.

I second that request. I have two large bubbled areas as the OP and have them "patched" (covered with clear gorilla tape). A friend of mine familiar with auto body and painting said the only real solution is to do what the OP is doing (cut & weld).

Isn't there also a known culprit for this issue? Something about a drain plug or something that clogs?

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Dirt and grime pool up in there, underneath the plastic trim. Over time, as rains come, and go, water pools up in there with the dirt, it stays wet, and eventually the clear coat lets go, now water attacks the base coat, gets thru, and rust starts to form. This is why one must keep his or her E39 Touring clean, if you keep it clean, not so much dirt builds up in there. I also try to blow a large amount of compressed air in there, Boggs sides, it blows out a lot of moisture, every time I do. Been doing this for over 8 years, I don’t have any rust in the tailgate.
The last time I had the trim off. The next time I do it, I will be repainting the whole car, when it take the trim off, I will coat the whole area under the trim with POR15, or 3M urethane primer and I will not have to worry about that particular known rust zone in the future. For now, I always try to remember to blast the area free of moisture whenever it rains, as much as possible.

[CPHES]

Haha - the OP is in Michigan, and my car spent 11 years in Boston - Virginia has nothing in comparison. Yes, there are lots of nooks and crannies to get stuff stuck in. Frequent cleaning helps. I got a clean used gate from a southern car. Now it has to go on....

[ChronoGN]

So, last night, I finished all the welds (Both sides were rotted out and the side on the passenger side was rotted out also so, total of 3 weld patches).
I'm trying to brainstorm some ideas for the wiring.
e61 Touring has the wiring hole more up the rain channel. Which is an improvement from e39.
http://tcbf62.blogspot.com/2016/01/b...te-wiring.html
Route it underneath the hatch like VW golf?
https://www.stuartdalby.co.uk/vwgolf...ires/index.php
Move it all on the interior of the car like this?
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=272711

Some wire sleeves to protect the wires.
https://www.cabletiesandmore.com/hea...y-sleeving.php

[CPHES]

Did you dump a lot of pod—5 back there? It’s very hard to get all the rot out